1. Field of the Invention
Among other things, the present invention includes a method of providing a new conveyor belt for a merge or diverge conveyor as well as a conveyor belt for use with a merge or diverge conveyor. The conveyor belt is provided with one or more clusters of polymeric loops that are interlocked with each other after the belt has been threaded about the merge or diverge conveyor. For ease of securing the conveyor belt to the merge or diverge conveyor, the polymeric loops can be joined together in a zipper-like manner. The combination of the polymeric loops and the polymeric flexible pin reduce visible wear and tear to the nose bar of the merge or diverge conveying apparatus when compared to the prior art conveyor belts for merge or diverge conveyors.
2. Description of the Previous Art
Any discussion of references cited in this Description of the Previous Art merely summarizes the disclosures of the cited references and Applicants make no admission that any cited reference or portion thereof is relevant prior art. Applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy, relevancy and veracity of the cited references.
1) U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,565-Fry enables an endless belt for a conveyor belt-turn. In part, Column 2 of Fry reads, “FIG. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the belt ends and illustrating a preferred manner of interconnecting the ends together.”
Among other things, U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,565-Fry does not appear to disclose intermeshed polyester loops attached to the abutment ends of the conveyor belt that are secured by a polymeric pin. Further, Fry does not disclose a merge/diverge conveyor incorporating a slanted nose bar.
2) U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,871-Van Leeuwen enables a segmented belt turn conveyor. In part, Columns 8 and 9 of Van Leeuwen read, “Referring to FIG. 14, another embodiment 412 of the belt of the present invention is illustrated. Similar to the first three embodiments, belt 412 includes a plurality of belt segments 438, which are interconnected by vulcanized finger splices 440 a and lacing clips 440 b. Each segment 438 comprises a segment having an angle A in a range from approximately 5° to 75°, in a range from approximately 5° to 35°, or approximately 25°.
Lacing clips 440 b are optionally aligned along the radii of belt 412 and are placed on belt 412 by a lacing machine. In order to ease alignment of belt 412 in the lacing machine, a lacing jig 442 is provided (see FIG. 15), which is described in greater detail below. Other methods of aligning the lacing clips may be used, however. For example, belt 412 may be marked, for example, on the back side of belt 412.
In order to place lacing clips 440 b on belt 412, lacing jig 442 is initially placed into the comb at one end of the lacing machine. A required number of wire clip fasteners are placed into the comb of a lacing machine next to the jig. The edge of the belt is put into position resting on the comb. The belt is then pushed toward the lacing jig for proper alignment, with the lacing machine actuated, such as by pushing a foot pedal, to crimp the lacing hooks into the belt. The resulting lacing is radially aligned along the belt.”
Among other things, U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,871-Van Leeuwen does not appear to disclose intermeshed polyester loops attached to the abutment ends of the conveyor belt that are secured by a polymeric pin. Further, Van Leeuwen does not disclose a merge/diverge conveyor incorporating a slanted nose bar.
3) US Published Patent Application 20020005337-Van Leeuwen discloses a segmented belt turn conveyor. The specification of the '337 Application is identical to U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,871-Van Leeuwen.
4) US Published Patent Application 20020170806-Engle, et al. discloses conveyor belt spice cover, and methods. Paragraphs, 2, 30 and 31 of Engle read, “[0002] Endless belts are generally made by securing two ends of a length of web material together at a splice to form a continuous loop. The two most common splice types are a lap splice and a butt splice. In a lap splice, the two ends overlap one another, and in a butt splice, the two ends abut, without any overlap. In many applications, the splice is held together by adhesive, tape, or a combination of the two. Additionally or alternatively, in many heavy-duty applications, the splice is held together by a vulcanized bond. Typically for conveyor belts, a belt fastener such as a staple, clip, or other similar fastener is often used to join the two ends in a butt splice. Canadian patent application 2,019,918 uses interlocking members to connect and secure the two ends. Most belt fasteners, such as the staples or clips, are typically metal.
Conveyor belt 10 is made of an elongate web 15 having a first end 12 and a second end 14 that are connected to one another at a splice 20. Splice 20 extends generally transverse across web 15, from a first side edge 15 a to a second side edge 15 b. In most embodiments, splice 20 extends across the shortest distance from first side edge 15 a to second side edge 15 b, but in some embodiments, splice 20 may run at an angle between edges 15 a, 15 b, for example at an angle of about 30 or 45 degrees, in respect to one of edges 15 a, 15 b. Such angled splices are preferred in some applications.
Referring now to FIG. 2 a, a belt fastener 25 secures first end 12 of web 15 to second end 14 of web 15. Generally, multiple belt fasteners 25 are spaced equally along the length of splice 20 from first side edge 15 a to second side edge 15 b. First end 12 may touch second end 14, or a gap may exists between ends 12, 14, as shown in FIG. 2 a; the type of belt fastener 25 used may require a gap or contact between ends 12, 14. Examples of belt fasteners 25 that can be used to secure first end 12 to second end 14 include, for example, nails, screws, bolts, rivets, snaps, clasps, clips, latches, buttons, and zippers. Most belt fasteners commonly embed, at least partially, into web 15; conversely, other belt fasteners, such as bolts and zippers, commonly extend through web 15. Examples of belt fasteners 25 include those commercially available from Flexible Steel Lacing Company, also known as Flexco, of Downers Grove, Ill., and MATO GmbH & Co. of Mühlheim, Germany. In some embodiments, an adhesive tape, nylon tape, or other item may be present to cover any gap between first end 12 and second end 14.”
Among other things, US Published Patent Application 20020170806-Engle, et al. does not appear to disclose intermeshed polyester loops attached to the abutment ends of the conveyor belt that are secured by a polymeric pin. Further, Engle does not disclose a merge/diverge conveyor incorporating a slanted nose bar.
5) U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,439-Stebnicki, et al. thermoplastic connecting pin. In part, Column 2 of Stebnicki reads, “The present invention is a thermoplastic connector pin for a modular conveyor belt. The connector pin comprises a core and a shell disposed about the core. A high strength polymer material is used for the core of the connector pin and gives the connector pin improved mechanical properties (i.e., improved tensile strength, shear strength, tensile or flexural modulus of elasticity, and compressive strength). The outside shell is made from a low-friction polymer material for improved wear resistance of the connector pin over standard pins that are currently used in the art. The outside shell is necessary because the high-strength core material can be very abrasive and can cause excess wear to the modular links and the connector pin.”
In part, Column 4 of Stebnicki reads, “The core 71 is manufactured from a high-strength polymer. A fiber may be added to the polymer to increase important mechanical properties (i.e., tensile strength, shear strength, tensile or flexural modulus of elasticity and compressive strength). Adding a fiber to the polymer can significantly increase the stiffness of a normally low strength polymer. One preferred fiber which may be added to the thermoplastic core is glass, however, carbon fiber or aramid fiber may also be added.
The outside shell 73 is disposed about the core 71 of the connector pin 17 and is fabricated from a low-friction polymer. The low-friction polymer shell 73 provides a smooth cover for the abrasive fiber filled thermoplastic core. The shell 73 may be an unfilled resin.
The core 71 and the shell 73 are preferably made from materials that can chemically bond together (e.g., the core 71 is a 40% glass filled polypropylene and the shell 73 is an unfilled polypropylene). The materials in the core 71 and the shell 73 should bond together so that the shell 73 does not separate from the core 71.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a lubricant can be introduced into the low-friction polymer that forms the shell 73. Adding a lubricant to the shell 73 decreases the friction of the connector pin 17 even further resulting in decreased wear to the connector pin 17, the first conveyor link 13 and the second conveyor link 15 during operation of the modular conveyor belt.”
Among other things, U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,439-Stebnicki, et al. does not disclose intermeshed polyester loops attached to the abutment ends of the conveyor belt that are secured by a polymeric pin. Instead, the '439 patent discloses the combination of a series of modular conveyor belt links held together with a polymeric pin that has a fiber filled thermoplastic core and an unfilled resin shell. The Stebnicki pin is not flexible, but rather a firm high-strength polymer. Further, Stebnicki does not disclose a merge/diverge conveyor incorporating a slanted nose bar.
6) U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,818-White enables a conveyor belt splice cover. In part, Column 3 of White reads, “Referring now to FIG. 2, the conveyor belt is spliced in accord with the invention by using two or more separate pieces of reinforced cover panel. Two cover panels (22) and (23) with excess size (19) and (20), shown in phantom, are cut from a bulk roll of such material. The individual panels are of much smaller size than usual, because they need only be 1 meter, or as required, in width (21). As can be seen from each of the trimmed panels (22) and (23), they are abutted at a bias angle B (of from about 45° to about 75°) at an intermediate point (24) along the splice, yet all reinforcing strands (25) now run continuously across the width of the belt. This method of reinforcing conveyor belt splices results in improved and consistent impact strength over the entire splice area. In addition, since rolls of reinforced splice cover material tend to be limited to about 1 meter in width, manual handling is much more manageable, which also reduces the risk of personal injury.”
Among other things, U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,818-White does not appear to disclose intermeshed polyester loops attached to the abutment ends of the conveyor belt that are secured by a polymeric pin having a clip at one end thereof. Further, White does not disclose a merge/diverge conveyor incorporating a slanted nose bar.